My brother is in upper managment at Siemens in the marketing department. Since Siemens has sponsored Spaceship Earth he has been flown down there twice for meetings and all the sponsorship hoopla (including a tour of the innerworkings of SE!!) He claims that Siemens will be taking out most of the scenes and redoing it. He was telling me verbatim what the Siemens pitch to the imagineers was, and it seemed to stay in theme off communications throughout the years, but with more of the ride being dedicated to the last 25 years. Now just because this is what Siemens pitched doesn't mean Disney will give the OK. He was a little confused as to when this wll be completed-he knew it would be done Dec 31, but he didn't know if it was 2006 or 2007!!! I was just wondering if anyone has head anything else about SE getting a makeover and some scene changes. I'm not saying any of this is final and my brother is by no means working on this Disney project, but he does know the people working on the SE project for Siemens and that is what he heard!
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Siemens to redo Spaceship Earth?
- Thread starter FairyTaleCouple
- Start date
netenyahoo
New Member
I wouldn't mind seeing more of the recent things, but I would rather thay compact that into the last big scene. The history part before that I feel is important. I love seeing the history of communication. The scenes could use a little refreshening though.
Pioneer Hall
Well-Known Member
Since the contract was signed I think everyone kind of figured something would be happening inside. No one knows exactly what will happen or when it will change. Once Disney announces something we will know for sure though. If it was going to be done for 2006 though I think we would have heard something by now since this wouldn't be a small rehab (from what you mentioned). It is going to take a while for all of this to occur.
I used to intern with the department that handles sponsorships and was there during the last negotiating stages of the Siemens deal. It was very cool to witness a lot of the ongoing projects.
Now if a sponsoring company wishes to change an attraction, particularly at Epcot, they can pretty much do what they want as long as a)they will handle the costs and b) it still fits in with the theme of whatever story Disney is trying to tell. Case in point, there has been a lot of objection to the American Adventure as why Disney hasn't updated. Well, American Adventure does not currently have a sponsor and there is no real value in Disney spending money to update the attraction. I don't know the specifics of what Siemens wants to do with Spaceship Earth, but I do know that there has always been talk between Disney and Siemens to update it.
Now if a sponsoring company wishes to change an attraction, particularly at Epcot, they can pretty much do what they want as long as a)they will handle the costs and b) it still fits in with the theme of whatever story Disney is trying to tell. Case in point, there has been a lot of objection to the American Adventure as why Disney hasn't updated. Well, American Adventure does not currently have a sponsor and there is no real value in Disney spending money to update the attraction. I don't know the specifics of what Siemens wants to do with Spaceship Earth, but I do know that there has always been talk between Disney and Siemens to update it.
Well when he first started telling me what the plans were he said they were going to gut it and start over. The more we talked about it the more it sounded like the worst case scenario would be they gut all the scenes and leave the ride system intact (with new ride vehicles I hope, I have found memories of the old ones, but comfortable they are not, and the sound stinks!) I just hope they either leave or incorporate some of the things like the smell of Rome with the smoke, and the printing press and such. I wonder if Siemens has any subsidaries that would sponsor U of E, like Sylvania (who is owned by Siemens) sponsors Illuminations now!?
When did American Adventure go sponsorless? Sorry I`m behind with this - to think it used to have two sponsors!
With SSE anything could be done in the middle 50% of the Geosphere - apart from remove the floors or central core. In theory holes could be made in the floors between certain support structures, but the spiral 3 floor layout would have to remain. Nothing major could be added above 180 top, nor below the lower floor (dawn of a new age).
At least the ride system sounds like it`ll remain intact... or at least the ride path.
A full makeover though could close the attraction for a very long time. The Irons rehab took 3 months, and there wasn`t a lot to remove from Tomorrows Child (mainly projection equipment and perhaps a certain satellite) and only the new descent to earth scenes to add. Remember, anything that goes in or comes out scene wise has to fit and go through the entry or exit tunnels in the southern legs - a mammoth process if the interior is to be gutted and rebuilt.
On a related topic, does the EPCOT service tunnel have any access into Earthstation...sorry, Global Neighborhood? If not any material needed the following day would have to be stored in the Earthstation building before park opening. This could mean a longer rehab schedule purely for logistics.
With SSE anything could be done in the middle 50% of the Geosphere - apart from remove the floors or central core. In theory holes could be made in the floors between certain support structures, but the spiral 3 floor layout would have to remain. Nothing major could be added above 180 top, nor below the lower floor (dawn of a new age).
At least the ride system sounds like it`ll remain intact... or at least the ride path.
A full makeover though could close the attraction for a very long time. The Irons rehab took 3 months, and there wasn`t a lot to remove from Tomorrows Child (mainly projection equipment and perhaps a certain satellite) and only the new descent to earth scenes to add. Remember, anything that goes in or comes out scene wise has to fit and go through the entry or exit tunnels in the southern legs - a mammoth process if the interior is to be gutted and rebuilt.
On a related topic, does the EPCOT service tunnel have any access into Earthstation...sorry, Global Neighborhood? If not any material needed the following day would have to be stored in the Earthstation building before park opening. This could mean a longer rehab schedule purely for logistics.
Glasgow
Well-Known Member
When I rode SSE back in Feb I really noticed how LOUD the ride vehicles were. I think that is a major distraction especially during the quieter scenes. The music is so powerful and emotional during the attraction so it's a shame to have it adversely affected by the vehicles.
polarboi
Member
Ride vehicles
Yes, yes, and yes. The ride vehicles always hamper my enjoyment of SSE. They're loud, jerky, and uncomfortable, and the sound at times can be abysmal. If you've been riding SSE for years as a Disney fanatic, you might be used to it, but try to take a new person on it after they've experienced some of the other amazing Epcot attractions, and it just doesn't go over too well.
SSE is the flagship attraction of Epcot, so it's good to hear that it will be getting some much-deserved TLC. As far as I'm concerned, they can do just about whatever they want to the show (I'm sure it will be wonderful) as long as they fix the ride vehicles. Gosh, if the ride were smooth and comfortable, I might fall in love with SSE again.
-p.b.
FairyTaleCouple said:
Glasgow said:
Yes, yes, and yes. The ride vehicles always hamper my enjoyment of SSE. They're loud, jerky, and uncomfortable, and the sound at times can be abysmal. If you've been riding SSE for years as a Disney fanatic, you might be used to it, but try to take a new person on it after they've experienced some of the other amazing Epcot attractions, and it just doesn't go over too well.
SSE is the flagship attraction of Epcot, so it's good to hear that it will be getting some much-deserved TLC. As far as I'm concerned, they can do just about whatever they want to the show (I'm sure it will be wonderful) as long as they fix the ride vehicles. Gosh, if the ride were smooth and comfortable, I might fall in love with SSE again.
-p.b.
peter11435
Well-Known Member
I am almost certain that Coke is now just the sponsor of the liberty inn and that Amex has pulled out entirely.speck76 said:
TomorrowlandTyler
New Member
Cant Wait! SSE deserves some TLC, and sounds like it is certainly going to get it w/ Siemens
disnyfan89
Well-Known Member
There is only one problem that I see in your story. I doubt that Disney would close an attraction that has such a large capacity on December 31st. A day that is just as busy (if not more) than Christmas. Other than that it sounds plasible.FairyTaleCouple said: